The problem he is focused on currently: illness and pain. The creative solution he is offering: medical marijuana in all its various forms — buds, extracts, balms and baked goods.

Mr. Peterson and his wife, Sage Peterson, own Canuvo Inc., a medical marijuana dispensary that holds one of eight dispensary licenses in Maine. Canuvo serves York County, and Mr. Peterson said his dispensary and the marijuana that he is licensed to grow is just an extension of his art.

Since 1999, Maine has allowed for patients and caregivers to grow enough marijuana to serve five patients each. In 2009, Maine passed legislation that allowed for medical marijuana dispensaries, and those rules took effect in August 2010. Canuvo was granted a dispensary license and a growing license, and has been serving patients since 2011.

Massachusetts could soon have similar dispensaries throughout the state. Massachusetts is among 17 states that allow for medicinal use of marijuana, with the approval of Question 3 in the November election.

While the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's draft regulations are expected to be made public by the end of this month and could be in effect as early as May, many communities are drafting their own local regulations. The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office last week rejected a proposed ban in Wakefield; however, communities can place a moratorium on dispensaries or enact restrictive zoning.

In Westboro, the town meeting Saturday approved a zoning bylaw amendment to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to be located in the adult entertainment zone by special permit. The bylaw also did not allow marijuana cultivation to be included in its agricultural definitions.

In Spencer, the Board of Selectmen plan to place an article on the annual town meeting warrant for a moratorium on locating dispensaries in town for one year in order to further study the issue.

Mr. Peterson is familiar with that reaction.

He's struggled with local regulations; he's struggled with helping his patients past the stigma of using marijuana; he lives with the risk of knowing that while what he is doing in Maine is legal, it still violates the federal Controlled Substances Act.

The Petersons have invested a significant amount of personal capital in to the dispensary business, and every day of the last 30 months to serving their patients. They — and their staff — are also risking federal jail time and seizure of all their personal assets.

Mr. Peterson is at once part professor, part working man and part medicine man in appearance: He wears two pairs of round-lensed tortoise-framed glasses on top of his hairless head, a tweed jacket with a button of a marijuana plant with the words “Buy local,” over a sweater vest and a denim shirt. He sports a well-worn pair of Chippewa boots on his feet, and a pack of Camels discretely tucked into his pocket. He holds his cigarette between fingers that are chapped and calloused.

A former chairman of selectmen, he is well-spoken in politics, both in terms of local and legislative issues, and as a cannabis user for many years, he is well-spoken in the botany of marijuana plants, science of its effect on the human body, and its medical benefits.

Those who come to Canuvo are patients, not customers or clients. They are patients with medical conditions ranging from cancer to seizures and from AIDS to ALS. They are young adults, working-class men, middle-aged women and even grandmothers who seek treatment from Canuvo. The average age of his patient is 45.

“They are at the end of their rope,” Mr. Peterson said, adding that medical marijuana is closer to the last resort than their first option. “There are on so many prescriptions. OxyContin is not a solution. They come to us. They don't know what to think. Many are hesitant. They consult with us. When you advocate for your own health, you change you life around. People are more active, they are moving, they are eating better. They are changing their lives and don't have to walk around in a pharmaceutical haze.”

The six-seat waiting room on some days is standing room only. Other days the wait spills outside. There, patients will often turn to each other to discuss their illness and treatments and trade advice. Friendships have been formed in the waiting room, a community resource beyond the locked doors where it is about helping each other.

The patients are called individually and accompanied by a staff member into one of two dispensing rooms. There, they choose medicine, from measured vials of buds in their naked, raw state — which Mr. Peterson dubs his 'potnography' — balms and ointments, tinctures and even tea, all depending on the patient's preferred method of intake.

The goal of medicating with marijuana is not to reach intoxication, but comfort.

“With medical marijuana, you consume enough to ease the pain,” Mr. Peterson said. Under Maine state law, a patient is allowed a maximum of 2.5 ounces. The base price for cannabis at Canuvo is $350 per ounce. On average, patients consume 7 grams — or .25 ounces — a week. Based on that amount, 7 grams will cost a patient about $87.50 a week, or $4,550 a year.

Medical marijuana is not covered by insurance and patients pay out of pocket, in cash.

Patients who come to the dispensary have to show their recommendation, a photo copy is made, and on the initial visit an intake form is completed and then the patient meets with Mrs. Peterson to discuss how the dispensary operates, what is offered, what the patient is experiencing, what kind of relief they are seeking, and how best the dispensary can help them.

“We sit down with people for as long as it takes for them to get comfortable,” said Mrs. Peterson, a former corporate marketing executive. “If you don't have any experience with cannabis, it can be overwhelming. We want people to know that we are here supporting them on this new journey.”

Mrs. Peterson said what she has found by working with patients on their initial intake forms is that the common denominators are that they want to reduce their reliance on pharmaceuticals and they want to live.

“They want to go on with their lives, and they partner with us,” Mrs. Peterson said. “Working with that concept, we ask them to focus on the little wins. People aren't going to walk in, smoke medical marijuana and be cured. We talk balancing their lives as an adult, what products might be suitable for them. People are in a lot of pain, and they just want enough for that pain to go away. They don't want to feel stoned.”

Canuvo has a patient base of about 700 patients, many buying 1 or 2 grams a week. On average they serve about 200 patients a week and with their expanding patient base they are looking to add a dispensary room within the facility they have. Most patients come once a week or biweekly.

The Maine Medical Association opposed the law in 1999 that allowed patients and caregivers to grow marijuana, and later took no position on the expanded legislation to allow for dispensaries and an expanded list of qualifying conditions. The Maine Medical Association works with doctors educating them on how to work with patients who want to use marijuana as medicine, as well as counseling doctors who opt not to participate in the program to best deal with their patients.

The Maine Medical Association opposed the bill last year that eliminated the requirement for patients using marijuana to register with the state, and is opposing the bill this session that will eliminate the list of qualifying conditions.

“My members overwhelmingly believe if they do that, we are just legalizing marijuana,” said Gordon Smith, vice president of the Maine Medical Association. “Our physicians will just be inundated with requests to prepare certifications for people who really want to use it for recreational purposes. The medical aspect would just be a front for legalization.”

There are 25 different strains of cannabis available on site at Canuvo, and roughly 40 strains are grown at the off-site facility.

The recommended application is not smoking;rather, it is vaporization, tinctures or edibles.

Many people use a tincture in the morning and, if needed, supplement it with a cannabis-infused chocolate coin later in the day.

What patients purchase depends as much on what works as it does with what is most economical.

The three-page menu of offerings changes each day, and the baked goods are made daily. On an afternoon two weeks ago, the kitchen smelled of rich, chocolate homemade brownies.

Karen Knight, Mr. Peterson's sister, is Canuvo's baker. She had removed a fresh batch of cannabis brownies from the oven and had them cooling on a counter.

Ms. Knight begins baking each day in the morning before the dispensary opens. Ms. Knight also prepares the dispensary's newest product — tea — which is brewed from chopped plant stalks and mixed with ginger, peppermint or green tea, and sold as Canna Tea in glass bottles to be drunk at room temperature or iced.

Through the use of his cannabis products, Mr. Peterson says he has helped some patients completely eliminate their dependence on heavy narcotics to manage pain, such as OxyContin.

“It is unbelievable how powerful this can be,” Mr. Peterson said. “It's just magical what cannabis can do.”

One patient, his accountant's son, has suffered from severe migraines since age 12. Now in his 20s, the migraines were so frequent and debilitating that he often lost days at a time to the pain.

“He recently sent me a picture of the 12 prescriptions over the last dozen years that didn't work. He uses a tincture daily. Now he is getting those days back.”

What products are used to treat which ailments is dependent on the patient, and a bit of trial and error to see what works for them.

“People need to figure out how to incorporate this in into their life,” Mr. Peterson said.

Chuck Neal adds a tincture to his morning coffee every day, and uses a vaporizer, which he prefers because it is more economical.

Mr. Neal lost his leg after an ATV accident 10 years ago. When his leg was amputated above the knee, he lost more than a limb. He became isolated, homebound, and on a steady dosage of OxyContin — 200 milligrams a day — to relieve the pain in the leg that is no longer there.

He became a patient at Canuvo on June 4, 2011, and in six months reduced his OxyContin dosage by half. By the end of April 2012, he was off of OxyContin. He now goes out in public, and the man, who once had to use a wheelchair, has lost 80 pounds and walks with canes.

“I had no quality of life,” said Mr. Neal, a former truck driver. “At times I didn't think I would walk again. I have always hoped I would go to crutches, but now that I've lost 80 pounds in a year, I am hoping to go down to one cane.”

After forming a relationship with Mr. Peterson, Mr. Neal was offered a job as the receptionist/security guard, who is often on-call when the dispensary is closed for emergencies.

His bearded face and jovial welcome are what greet patients as they are buzzed in to Canuvo. He often shares his story with the patients as they wait. He notices that many new patients are nervous the first few times they enter.

“It's amazing some of the changes you see in people between their first and fourth visits here. I see and hear a lot of success stories — people who have gotten off of opiates and narcotics,” Mr. Neal said.

Mr. Peterson has been self-employed all his life. As a caregiver, he has grown marijuana for patients, but nothing on this scale.

“We've had other businesses, but this one is full of risk. I am facing 20 years in prison for violating the federal law; I could lose everything — all my assets — if the feds decide to come.”

However, Mr. Peterson said Maine is an independent, open-minded state.

“This is a good environment to take a risk. I know the police. I used to appoint them in my town when I was chairman on the Board of Selectmen. I know the sheriff in my county. It's the sheriff that can invite them in or keep them at bay. I've trained my staff in what to do if we get raided.”

Yet with knowing all of the risks, he still pursued the dispensary. Why? Simply because someone had to, and he and his wife had enough to invest without relying on outside investors to be able to control Canuvo from seedling to sales.

“Most people don't understand the huge risk involved,” Mr. Peterson said. “It is like fire-walking — as long as you keep going, you won't get burned; as long as you have faith, you won't get burned.”

To prevent diversion to non-patients, Canuvo is required to track sales and consumption.

“If we see someone purchasing more than normal, we question that,” Mr. Peterson said. “Occasionally, it gets back to us that someone is selling it on the black market and we tell them it is time to move on. There are a lot of patients who need this. Anyone who is going against this program is denying it to someone who needs it and we won't tolerate it.”

There have been no incidents in the two years since Mr. Peterson opened Canuvo that have required a police response, save for the dental practice employees that share a common storage area who occasionally set off the alarm.

“We take that as a good omen,” Mr. Peterson said. “Our patients look out for us.”

The patients, in turn, have shown their gratitude in kind. The art that decorates the walls are paintings and photographs made by the patients. Those who don't paint offer the other talents they have — a mechanic has offered to check Mr. Peterson's car in the parking lot, a patient will bring in baked cupcakes — the non-cannabis kind.

He is as much their lifeline as they are his.

“If I am ever arrested, I fully expect my patients to show up with chains and tow trucks to break the bars and get me out of prison,” Mr. Peterson said.

Contact Donna Boynton at dboynton@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @DonnaBoyntonTG